As a veteran homeschooler (1988 – present)of six children, I endorse Senator John McCain for President, and hope and pray for his success. I well remember the early days when homeschooling parents were arrested on charges of truancy, the days when we kept the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) number posted by the phone in case of unwarranted government investigation, and the days of filing onerous forms to prove to the bureaucrats that we had the right and the competence to educate our own children. I remember the sighs of relief as the oppressive laws eased, thanks to the efforts of groups like the HSLDA, and to a renaissance of conservative political thought. But mostly I remember, even this morning, the joy of being able to teach our own children in our own home according to our own beliefs – of marveling at the Creator during science class, of beginning the day with praise and prayer, and of studying the lives of world-changing and God-fearing (but not necessarily PC!) men and women of history.But, as Wendell Phillips said, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty–power is ever stealing from the many to the few.”Just this year, on Feb. 28, Judge H. Walter Croskey of the Second District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles ruled that children may be taught only by credentialed teachers in schools – or if at home by parents, only if they have a teaching degree. Furthermore, the judge wrote, if parents continue teach at home without credentials they will be subject to criminal action. What a setback! Fortunately, this ruling is very likely to be overturned. But doesn’t it illustrate the need for eternal vigilance? I’m guessing that this judge is not a conservative, but rather a big fan of big government.He is probably the kind of government official who (along with Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama) thinks it takes a village (read: government) to raise a child. But it doesn’t take a government to raise a child – it takes a family! And, I am grateful that in Senator McCain we have a candidate publicly committed to the rights of families to homeschool and to smaller, less intrusive government.